Memories Are For Those Who Forget
by hookedemma
Summary: A forgotten past that will never be remembered. Memories stirred, but never awakened. one-shot


A boy with raven hair, tousled by the wind, and striking blue eyes stood beside a concrete wall watching the scenery. He gazed upon the hundreds of flakes of snow delicately lowering to the ground from above. He attempted to count them all but they were all simply moving too fast for one to keep track of. The sound of a crunching snow echoed in his ears. His head snapped into the direction of the source of the noise. A girl around his age appeared in front of him. She had short blonde curls with a tiny, barely visible, smile pasted on her face. She titled her head slightly to the side.

"Who are you?" The girl inquired. He figured there was no harm to sharing his name. They were living in the same orphanage after all.

"Killian Jones,"

"I'm Emma," The girl - Emma, said with a look of curiosity. "Emma Swan. I've never seen you around before."

Killian focused his startling blue eyes into her own green ones. "I like to hide in my own world," he said with a casual shrug. Emma appraised him for a few more minutes, before her face broke into a big smile. She approached him, stopping directly in front of him.

"Do you want an adventure?" She asked with poorly contained excitement.

* * *

And that was the beginning of their friendship. Swan and Jones, two abandoned orphans looking for adventure. They're always at each other's side. Walking, sitting, talking, always side by side. The orphanage hardly noticed their escapades. They would often sneak into the clock tower in the town their orphanage occupied. Come to think of it, they don't really know what the town's name was, nor where there truly were. They didn't really care either. As long as they had each other, everything was right in their world.

"So you never really told me," Emma started as the two walked back to the orphanage. "How did you end up here?"

Killian looked down at her expectant face. She didn't know much about him to be honest, his past specifically. He wasn't truly from this world. He had come through a portal and landed here after hearing of his father's fate. He had originally planned to leave as soon as possible - until he met Emma. He had another bean in his bedside drawer ready for him to use, but he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want his best friend to be abandoned again. He refused to be one of the people in her life to disappear. Killian blinked and remembered her question.

"My father was a sailor. We boarded a ship with plans to travel to a special place." He wasn't entirely telling the truth, but he wasn't lying either. "One morning, I woke. And he was gone. Turns out he was a fugitive. He fled in the middle of the night to avoid capture."

Emma continued to stare at him but halted her walking. He, however, continued on before he heard her voice over his shoulder. He turned his head towards her direction, notifying her that he was paying attention.

"I was abandoned on the side of a freeway," Her voice wavering. "I wasn't even a day old." At that Killian turned his face forward. He stared blankly ahead for a moment before making a decision. Leave now, the sooner she can forget him and return home to seek out his father, but break her heart. Or stay here with her, in a world he doesn't belong in, living with the knowledge that his father was in danger in another world or possibly dead because of him, but be happy here with Emma.

Killian turned his body around and grabbed her hand. He gently pulled her into a soft hug. He pressed his face into her hair, a sad smile gracing his lips against the blonde curls caressing his face. He enjoyed the comfort of the embrace gave, the familiarity of it. He reluctantly pulled away, missing her breathy sigh.

"Let's go back to the tower," he suggested. "It's not like they would miss us anyways. We could spend the night there too."

Emma flashed him a brilliant smile. He couldn't help but return it. He stared at her as if she was going to disappear any moment, but in truth, it was him that would disappear. He wanted to memorise her face, he never wanted to forget it. To Emma, this was just another adventure, but to him, it meant everything. It will be the last moment he will spend with her. It was his last chance to make some long lasting memories, or at least he hoped he will never forget. But then again, memories are for those who forget. A reminder is usually needed to remember, or a trigger. But he will have nothing. Killian swallowed his worries and continued walking beside Emma, to the direction of the clock tower.

Emma roughly pushed the door open and continued on to the stairs. When they finally reached the top she stepped towards the back of the clock, looking out - seeking serenity. He matched her steps and stood beside her. As always. He was glancing at her sadly, when he felt her fingers wrapping around his. He let her grab his hand, enjoying her gentle touch as long as he possibly can. They both looked out and stayed in the comfortable silence for the most.

Sleep eventually got the best of them and they chose their spots lay down. Killian, once again, grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you for everything," He muttered against her hair. "Thank you." Emma gave him a strange look but smiled none the less. He turned return to his spot but he was stopped by her grabbing his hand. She said absolutely nothing, but instead, just leaned closer. She pressed a feather light kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Goodnight," She whispered against the darkening room as she lay down. "We'll have to head back tomorrow early"

He gave another sad smile towards her direction in response. Tomorrow he will be gone. He would of suck out while she was in deep sleep and returned to the orphanage. He'd give her one more kiss to her forehead as a goodbye. He would retrieve the bean from his bedside table and open a portal to the Enchanted Forest. He would jump in and never hear the distressed cry Emma made when she found him missing. He would never know how she often cried at night, without his presence. How the more years pass, the more she forgets. Until she forgot him completely. He would never know because he forgot her too. After all, memories are for those who forget.

* * *

He was constantly searched for his father, pillaging and raiding villages and homes using the Jolly Roger. He had it built to make travelling easier, enchanting it to make it suitable for a one person crew. In his quest, he unintentionally gained a reputation as an infamous pirate. His merciless reputation and his driven attitude to find his father earned him a loyal crew. He disposed of anyone that blocked his path.

At the age of 24, he finally discovered that Rumpelstiltskin, The Dark One, held his father prisoner. He pushed his crew hard, sailing the ship as fast as he could. They docked at a port, the crew leaving for a tavern nearby. He paced back to his cabin to plan where to start his search, when he heard a strange 'puffing' noise Killian turned, and he saw Rumpelstiltskin holding the bloody body of his father. Bloody, but alive. The Dark One's skin was strange; it was olive green with tinted gold, scaly almost. It reminded him of a crocodile. As he slowly approached them, The Dark One gave a mirthful cackle and waved his hand. Killian's back hit the pole before he could make out of what happened. A rope magically tied him tightly to the mast, preventing him from getting anywhere near them.

Rumpelstiltskin stalked around Killian before stopping directly in front of him. He pulled Killian's father up into Killian's line of sight.

"Everything comes with a price, Dearie." The Dark One hissed to the man he clutched. "You attempted to steal something precious from me. Now I'll have your son watch you lose the light from your eyes" Killian's eyes widened at his words and started struggling against the ropes that held him. His movement caused Rumpelstiltskin's head to snap towards his direction. The Dark One smirked before he plunged his hand into the man's chest. The man, Davy Jones, tilted his face upwards in the direction of the sky, his mouth wide open in a silent cry. The Dark One pulled his scaly hand back and returned with his glowing enchanted heart.

"NO!" Killian gave a strangled cry. Rumpelstiltskin gripped the heart tighter, and tighter, until there was nothing left of the heart but ashes. The enchanted rope loosened and Killian ran to his father's falling body. "I love you, father."

"Why?" asked a mourning Killian as he looked up from his father's corpse. The Dark One – no, the Crocodile simply gave him a smirk and took out his sword. He swung it towards the direction of his left hand. Killian let out a strangled grunt with wide eyes as the sword sliced his left hand off.

"Because he wanted to steal a bean from me," The Crocodile stated simply. "To find you. And you, Dearie, I needed an insurance that you know what will come to you if you end up like your father."

Killian kept his glare before a fallen hook on the deck caught his eye. He grabbed it and stabbed it into the place where Rumpelstiltskin's heart should be. To Killian's horror Rumpelstitskin simply let out a childish giggle before responding.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me, Dearie!" With that The Crocodile disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Killian grabbed the hook that fell on the ground and held it to the light. From that moment on, Killian Jones was no more. He was a changed man, a man driven by revenge. He would not stop until he got what he wanted. And he was willing to pay the price.

In that moment, Captain Hook was born.

* * *

Emma was not having a good day, or week actually. She had just broken the curse and her reward was getting dragged through a portal by a damn wraith. Plus, she had just found out that her parents were freaking Prince Charming and Snow White and now she was stuck in the Enchanted Forest with no idea how to return. At least Mary Margaret was with her. This time she wasn't alone.

Emma walked with Mary Margaret, Mulan and Aurora back to the camp. She froze at the sight of the dead bodies laying all over the camp. Emma ignored the others when she glimpsed a small movement amongst the bodies. She called out to the others to help her rid of the bodies. Together they moved all the bodies aside and saw body moving on the ground. It was a man, and he was missing a hand.

Hook looked around at his surroundings before he glanced upwards. A blonde woman stood before him. He felt a strange tug in his heart. He couldn't help but feel like he knew her. Or at least, her face was very familiar. He disregarded the thought as the women helped him up.

* * *

There was something awfully familiar with Emma that Hook can't put his finger on. The look she gave her mother, it was a look that he knew all too well, from where however, he didn't know. He couldn't help but smile at her, smile at the familiar expression on her face Although, she seemed to be confused when he had vaguely asked once while they were climbing the beanstalk. He had simply inquired, or rather implied, if she had known him or _someone_ like him from the past.

She had no feeling of familiarity towards him. There was just something about the way she looked, the way she talked, the way she walked, that reminded him of something. Hook knew it was impossible to have known her before. He'd been a pirate for most of his life, or so he thought. He'd been driven so by his search for his father and later avenging his death that he had forgotten about his life from before. Maybe she was just someone he'd stumbled across in the past, nothing more, and nothing less.

The way they walked and stood together brought out a warmth in him that he furiously pushed back down. He did not understand why he felt this way. The fact that she refused to trust him bothered him to a point, although he could understand her reasoning. He was an untrustworthy pirate after all. Whenever she called out his moniker, Hook, something that felt off. It didn't feel right coming out of her mouth. Her touch brought blurred images in his head of a black haired boy walking beside a blonde little girl, when she grabbed his extended hand. Her betrayal had pained him more than it should of. The strange part was that he felt like he deserved it.

That was the past now. After all the crazy mess and deals he made with Cora, he had finally arrived in Storybrooke. It wasn't without with more betrayals; Cora wanted to take the dagger and control him and gain his power instead of letting him kill the Crocodile. He set off to Manhattan instead and struck the powerless Crocodile with his hook. He only had a few seconds to take in his victory when his vision went black. When he woke he was in a moving contraption and tied up, again.

It had all led to where he was right now, in the top of the clock tower of Storybrooke still tied up. He could see the mouths of this Greg and Tamara moving, yet he heard nothing. His blue gaze was fixed looking through the broken clock. It triggered another image to play out in his mind. It was the same boy and girl. The girl grabbing the boy's fingers with her own and held it while looking out the clock. Similar to the clock where he was now, but it wasn't broken like this one. The boy's piercing blue eyes held certain sadness to them while the girl's green eyes held peace. They stood standing with a gentle breeze blowing their hair for quite a lengthy time. Hook shook his head slightly from the image, wisps of his hair brushing against his forehead. He wasn't sure who they were, or why he kept seeing them. He was almost sure that the boy was him but there was no proof, But the girl, he had no idea who she could be, but she clearly meant a lot to the boy. He focused on the two people in front of him and the threats they carried. Those supposed memories only brought him more grief. Memories are for those who forget.

* * *

AN: First fic published. That was exhausting. But thank you for reading and special thanks to my beta Elissa3 ily. This was inspired by a photoset I made and decided to write a fic along with it.


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